--- title: Don't let responsibility swim upstream description: When scaling up, be sure to lead your team to take responsibility at their own level image: https://esul.org/hubfs/LI%20blog%204a.png --- [![European Scale Up Leaders](https://esul.org/hs-fs/hubfs/esul-logo-visionary-black.png?width=820&height=163&name=esul-logo-visionary-black.png "European Scale Up Leaders")](https://esul.org/) [![Structured Growth](https://esul.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_ESUL_beeldmerk_ScaleUpFlame-1.png?width=816&height=576&name=Logo_ESUL_beeldmerk_ScaleUpFlame-1.png "Structured Growth")](https://esul.org/) [![Structured Growth](https://esul.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_ESUL_beeldmerk_ScaleUpFlame-1.png?width=816&height=576&name=Logo_ESUL_beeldmerk_ScaleUpFlame-1.png "Structured Growth")](https://esul.org/) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. - [BOB](https://esul.org/sign-up-for-bob) - [Founder](https://esul.org/en/niels-hardam-founder) - [Book](https://esul.org/en/book) - [Insights](https://esul.org/blog) - [Contact](https://esul.org/contact) - [Join early access](https://esul.org/sign-up-for-bob#signup) - [BOB](https://esul.org/sign-up-for-bob) - [Founder](https://esul.org/en/niels-hardam-founder) - [Book](https://esul.org/en/book) - [Insights](https://esul.org/blog) - [Contact](https://esul.org/contact) - [Join early access](https://esul.org/sign-up-for-bob#signup) This is a search field with an auto-suggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Don't let responsibility swim upstream by [Niels Hardam](https://esul.org/blog/author/niels-hardam) | Jun 12, 2026 - - - - Don't Let Responsibilities Swim Upstream! Scaling up entails picking apart your process and delegating parts of it to specialized professionals. As a dedicated founder, you now may become prone to falling in the ‘reverse delegation’ gap. In other words, you distribute tasks and roles, but through a variety of reasons, these tasks or parts of them come back to you. Daniel Marcos of the Growth Institute writes: ‘The truth is, if you don't invest in educating and training your team – along with yourself – you will end up with massive pushback, and a lack of understanding of the new models you are learning and implementing.’ The interjection is crucial here. YOU may be the one who needs the most training. You may be a perfectionist, may not trust other fully with their new responsibilities, or may simply be a can-do guy or gal, who willingly puts his/her shoulders under tasks that are no longer theirs. And then there are the sneaky types who, through skillful communication, try to make you accountable for their issues. To help yourself with this increased burden, below are a few practical questions you can use (c/o Dan Rockwell), to make yourself and your team more aware of the delineations of responsibility: 1 - “What’s the next step you can take?” (Use “you,” not “we.”) 2 - “I want this to be a team effort. What contribution can you make?” 3 - “I think you misunderstood my question. I wasn’t thinking about something I should do. I was wondering how you might run with it.” 4 - “Which of your strengths might apply to this opportunity?” 5 - “What comes to mind when you think of taking this responsibility?” 6 - “I know it’s \*easier\* for me to do it. But it’s \*better\* for you to do it.”  --- **Growing your team?** Meet BOB, our first AI team member. He helps your recruiters qualify applicants, and your recruiter always decides. [Meet BOB →](https://esul.org/sign-up-for-bob) #### About the author Niels Hardam [Follow me on my website](https://esul.org/blog/www.esul.org) [Follow me on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielshardam/) Niels Hardam is the founder of European Scale Up Leaders, where we build AI team members for scaling companies, starting with BOB. Co-founder of Advanced Forces Group, author of 'De Scale-Up Mindset' and former officer in the Netherlands Marine Corps. Recent posts [Don't let responsibility swim upstream](https://esul.org/blog/dont-let-responsibility-swim-upstream) [Humans vs AI: 1-0](https://esul.org/blog/humans-vs-ai-1-0) [When Will Customer-Focus Hurt You?](https://esul.org/blog/when-will-customer-focus-hurt-you) [A Learning Organization of One](https://esul.org/blog/a-learning-organization-of-one) [The Basics of Finance for Scale-Ups](https://esul.org/blog/the-basics-of-finance-for-scale-ups) [![Logo\_ESUL\_uitgeschreven\_FoundersWhite-1](https://esul.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo_ESUL_uitgeschreven_FoundersWhite-1.png?width=250&height=47&name=Logo_ESUL_uitgeschreven_FoundersWhite-1.png "Logo_ESUL_uitgeschreven_FoundersWhite-1")](https://esul.org/) [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/nielshardam/) [BOB](https://esul.org/sign-up-for-bob) [Founder](https://esul.org/en/niels-hardam-founder) [Book: De Scale-up Mindset](https://esul.org/en/book) [Insights](https://esul.org/blog) [Contact](https://esul.org/contact) Get in touch with us! [Contact Us](https://esul.org/contact) © 2026 European Scale Up Leaders|  [Privacy Policy |](https://esul.org/hubfs/Privacy%20Statement%20ESUL.org.docx.pdf) [Disclaimer](https://esul.org/hubfs/Disclaimer%20ESUL.org.docx.pdf)       ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Niels Hardam", "url" : "https://esul.org/blog/author/niels-hardam" }, "dateModified" : "2026-11-05T19:26:51.927Z", "datePublished" : "2026-06-12T10:40:08.000Z", "headline" : "Don't let responsibility swim upstream", "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://esul.org/blog/dont-let-responsibility-swim-upstream", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://esul.org/hubfs/Logo_ESUL_beeldmerk_ScaleUpFlame-1.png" }, "name" : "European Scale Up Leaders" } } ```